PAM. 

MISC. 


THE  EVANGELICAL 

MIIISTEES AND  CHURCHES 

IN 

THE  UNITED  STATES, 

COOPEKATING  WITH 

THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


Dear  Brethren — With  the  hope  of  securing  your  aid  in  advancing 
the  great  interests  of  the  Redeemer’s  kingdom,  the  Committee  and  officers 
of  the  American  Tract  Society  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  their 
present  efforts  for  supplying  our  own  country,  and  as  far  as  practicable, 
all  the  accessible  unevangelized  nations,  with  a  pure,  evangelical  liter¬ 
ature. 

The  importance  of  the  Christian  press  was  never  more  apparent  than 
at  the  present  day,  and  in  our  own  country,  in  awakening  the  attention 
of  the  people  to  the  great  interests  of  eternity;  in  enlightening  the  mind, 
quickening  the  conscience,  and  educating  the  heart  of  the  nation ;  and  in 
counteracting  the  influence  of  infidelity,  false  religion,  intemperance, 
Sabbath-breaking,  licentiousness,  and  a  corrupt  press. 

Every  Protestant  has  rejoiced  in  the  glorious  developments  of  the 
Christian  press  in  the  great  Reformation.  The  Head  of  the  church,  as  is 
clearly  seen  in  D’Aubigne’s  History,  himself  prepared  the  soil,  and  then 
committed  the  choice  seed  to  his  servant  Luther.  Luther  gave  wings  to 


2 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


the  seeds  of  truth,  and  scattered  them  as  in  a  moment  over  the  whole  field 
of  the  church.  The  reformer  had  hardly  nailed  his  theses — his  refuta¬ 
tions  of  popery — to  the  door  of  the  Wittemburg  church,  when  the  feeble 
taps  of  his  hammer  produced  a  thunder-clap,  which  shook  the  very  foun¬ 
dations  of  proud  Rome.  For,  by  the  mighty  power  of  the  press  and  a 
thousand  Christian  hands,  those  writings  flew  with  the  rapidity  of  light¬ 
ning.  “  In  a  fortnight  they  were  in  every  part  of  Germany,  and  in  four 
weeks  they  had  traversed  near  the  whole  of  Christendom,  as  if  angels, 
instead  of  men,  had  been  their  bearers.” 

Here  do  we  not  see  one  of  the  grand  secrets  of  that  Reformation  which 
emancipated  the  world,  in  a  good  measure,  from  the  midnight  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  years  ?  There  was  but  a  little  band  of  the  reformers  to  preach  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  ;  but  holding  in  their  hands  the  press, 
which  perhaps  imparts  greater  moral  power  to  the  church  than  the  ancient 
gift  of  tongues,  they  could  give  rapid  diffusion  to  Christian  light  and  know¬ 
ledge,  and  carry  the  Gospel  to  millions  who  could  never  hear  the  voice 
of  the  living  preacher.  It  is  the  high  privilege  of  the  American  Tract 
Society  to  employ  this  mighty  agency  in  endeavoring  to  scatter  over  our 
whole  land,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  amongst  all  nations,  the  leaves  of  the 
tree  of  life. 

The  thought  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  upon  every  friend  of  this 
cause,  that  the  publications  circulated  by  the  Society  are  of  a  very  high 
character — the  choicest  productions  of  Baxter  and  Bunyan,  Doddridge 
and  Venn,  Fuller  and  Legh  Richmond,  of  the  old  world ;  and  Edwards 
and  Payson,  Nelson  and  Nevins,  of  our  own  country — men  of  different 
evangelical  denominations,  of  powerful  minds  and  devoted  piety,  whose 
writings  have  enlightened  and  blessed  the  world,  and  will  be  read,  and 
revered,  and  loved,  down  to  the  end  of  time.  Nor  are  the  smaller  Tracis, 
issued  by  the  Society,  less  valuable,  less  ably  written,  or  less  adapted  to 
do  good,  than  the  more  permanent  volumes ;  affording,  in  every  form  of 
interest  and  variety  of  illustration,  the  richest  instruction  to  the  old  and  the 
young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  parent  and  the  child,  the  pastor  and  his 
flock ;  and  while  many  of  them  are  so  short  that  they  may  be  read  in  mo¬ 
ments  of  leisure,  and  by  many  not  accustomed  to  read  larger  w'orks,  it 
is  the  design  of  the  Society  that  no  Tract  shall  go  forth  wliich  does  not 
contain  enough  of  practical  Gospel  truth  to  lead  the  sinner  to  Christ,  if  he 
should  never  have  another  warning. 

A  characteristic  excellence  of  these  works,  of  paramount  importance, 
is,  that  they  contain  the  great  distinguishing  principles  of  evangelical 
truth,  free  from  denominational  peculiarities — those  principles  which  con¬ 
stitute  our  common  Christianity — in  which  good  men  of  different  names 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


3 


agroc,  and  which  arc  adapted  to  convert  and  sanctify  the  soul.  The 
Society  liavins:  a  Publishiiiij  Committee  of  different  denominations  to 
select  and  publish  such  works,  the  deliglitful  fact  has  been  fully  demonstra¬ 
ted,  by  more  tlian  twenty  years’  experience  of  this  Institution,  that  Chris¬ 
tians  of  ditfe rent  names  are  one — one  in  feeling — one  in  aim — one  in  effort, 
in  advancing  the  great  interests  of  Christ’s  kingdom  ;  and  that  they  need 
only  to  come  together  to  labor  for  God  and  the  salvation  of  men,  in  order 
to  draw  forth  the  world’s  reluctant  commendation,  ‘‘See  how  these  breth¬ 
ren  love  one  another.”  The  Society  sustaining  this  truly  catholic  char¬ 
acter,  its  officers,  agents,  colporteurs,  and  supporters,  are  connected  with 
thirteen  different  denominations;  and  the  excellence  of  its  publications, 
the  neatness  of  their  dress,  and  the  benevolence  of  the  object — giving  to  the 
poor,  and  selling  to  others  at  prices  so  low  that  the  total  sales  yield  no 
profit  to  the  treasury — have  together  contributed  to  secure  their  circula¬ 
tion  in  every  part  of  our  American  community. 

The  Society  have  already  issued  more  than  one  hundred  millions  of 
books  and  Tracts — of  Alleine’s  Alarm,  120,000  copies;  Baxter’s  Saints’ 
Rest,  and  Doddridge’s  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion,  each  100,000  ; 
of  Baxter’s  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  250,000;  and  in  some  efforts  of 
late  to  supply  our  large  cities,  10,000  volumes  were  circulated  in  Boston, 
10,000  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  17,000  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity;  and  in 
other  cities  and  large  towns  of  the  United  States,  they  have  been  circu¬ 
lated  on  a  somewhat  similar  scale — showing  the  estimation  in  which  these 
works  are  held  by  those  who  are  qualified  to  judge  of  their  real  excel¬ 
lence. 

While  the  world  is  full  of  books  nominally  religious,  and  often  of 
doubtful  or  dangerous  character,  is  it  not  a  matter  of  great  importance 
that  the  Christian  community  can  feel  assured,  that  wherever  they  see  a 
book  published  by  the  American  Tract  Society,  that  work  has  passed  the 
revision  of  a  judicious  Committee,  and  is  worthy  of  all  confidence  ?  When 
it  is  remembered  that  God  has  been  pleased  to  place  the  seal  of  his  special 
approbation  upon  these  works,  and  that  some  of  them  have  evidently  been 
the  means  of  the  conversion  of  hundreds  of  souls,  who  can  estimate  the 
amount  of  good  done  by  this  Society  in  the  circulation  of  a  hundred 
millions  of  publications — all  breathing  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  ;  all  inculcating  the  purest  morality ;  and  all  enforcing  the  great 
doctrines  and  principles  of  evangelical  religion  ? 

The  extent  and  increasing  importance  of  this  work  will  be  seen  in  the 
fact  that,  from  small  beginnings  in  1825,  the  Society’s  operations  have 
gradually  increased,  till,  in  the  last  year,  its  receipts  for  books  sold  and 
donations,  were  more  than  $160,000 ;  more  than  half  a  million  of  books 


4 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


and  five  millions  of  Tracts  v/ere  circulated  ;  and  267  colporteurs,  includ¬ 
ing  44  students  for  vacations,  were  in  commission,  in  27  States,  for  the 
whole  or  part  of  the  year — -37  of  them  among  the  German,  French,  Irish, 
and  Norwegian  population— who  visited  215,000  families,  or  a  twentieth 
part  of  our  entire  population.  Nearly  one-sixth  of  these  families  were  found 
destitute  of  every  religious  book ;  not  more  than  one-half  were  habitual 
attendants  on  public  worship  ;  and  more  than  30,000  families  were  Roman 
Catholics  or  other  errorists.  Fifty-seven  thousand  books  and  3,000,000 
pages  of  Tracts  were  distributed  gratuitously  to  the  destitute.  The  total 
value  of  grants  of  publications,  including  the  amount  delivered  to  Life 
Members,  was  $24,000  ;  besides  which,  more  than  $40,000  was  expended 
for  colportage,  and  $10,000  for  foreign  operations.  Such  has  been  the 
scale  of  operations  for  a  year.  The  Society  now  has  on  its  list  more  than 
1,200  different  publications,  including  about  200  volumes  in  the  English 
and  other  modern  languages,  besides  which  more  than  2,000  publications 
have  been  approved  for  circulation  in  foreign  lands,  in  nearly  one  hun¬ 
dred  different  languages  and  dialects. 

To  give  more  extensive  and  systematic  distribution  to  these  works,  at 
home  and  abroad,  the  Society  now  has  the  cooperation  of  several  hundred 
American  missionaries,  of  different  denominations,  in  the  foreign  field ; 
a  much  larger  number  of  domestic  missionaries,  each  entitled  to  5,000 
pages  of  Tracts  annually  for  the  destitute ;  and  thousands  of  voluntary 
colporteurs,  or  Tract  distributors,  supplying  monthly  the  families  of  our 
large  cities  and  towns  with  these  publications. 

Foreign  Missionaries  regard  the  Christian  press  as  an  indispensable 
auxiliary  to  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  their  labors ;  and  not 
being  able  to  reach  hundreds  of  millions  of  the  benighted  heathen,  with 
the  living  voice,  they  appeal  to  American  Christians  for  a  large  supply 
of  books  and  Tracts ;  and  it  has  been  the  privilege  of  this  Society, 
for  several  years  past,  to  appropriate  from  $10,000  to  $20,000  annually, 
in  carrying  on  this  great  work  in  foreign  lands ;  by  means  of  which, 
tens  of  thousands  of  wretched  idolaters  are  now  permitted  to  read  in  their 
own  tongues  the  wonderful  works  of  God.  “  In  one  tour  up  the  Ira- 
waddy  river,”  says  Rev.  Mr.  Kincaid,  missionary  in  Burmah,  “I  was 
provided  with  near  two  millions  of  pages  of  Tracts;  and  we  visited  and 
distributed  them  in  every  town  and  almost  every  hamlet,  from  the  mouth 
of  that  mighty  river  to  the  Himalaya  mountains,  a  distance  of  more 
than  1,000  miles.  In  more  than  one  thousand  towns  and  villages  we 
have  been  permitted  to  place  some  portion  of  the  word  of  God,  or  a  Tract 
pointing  to  the  Saviour,”  The  fact,  that  China,  with  three  hundred 
and  sixty  millions  of  inhabitants,  has  been  of  late  thrown  open,  almost  as 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


by  miracle,  for  the  Christian  press,  and  tiic  fact,  tliat  the  Chinese  are 
found  to  be  a  reading  people,  impose  special  obligations  upon  the  Society 
to  furnish  a  large  supply  of  its  publications  for  that  as  well  as  other  im¬ 
portant  and  promising  fields.  With  such  openings  for  the  Christian  press 
in  the  heathen  world,  witli  Christ’s  command  pressing  upon  us  to  carry 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  how  great  will  be  the  guilt  of  the  church 
if  she  withholds  that  Gospel !  Shall  not  the  philanthropy  which  fed  the 
famishing  Irish,  speed  our  efforts  to  carry  the  bread  of  life  to  these  per- 
ishina;  millions  ? 

In  securing  a  wider  circulation  of  these  publications  in  our  own  country, 
the  Colporteur  enterprise  has  been  successfully  entered  upon ;  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  destitute  families  have  been  sought  out,  and  have  received 
with  kindness  and  gratitude  the  warm-hearted,  affectionate,  and  instructive 
visits  of  the  colporteur — have  read  with  interest  and  profit,  in  “  thoughts 
that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn,”  the  truth  that  maketh  wise  unto  salva¬ 
tion  ;  and  hundreds  and  thousands,  it  is  believed,  by  this  humble  instru¬ 
mentality,  have  been  brought  to  Christ. 

This  direct  and  systematic  effort  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  destitute — 
to  every  creature — -is  peculiarly  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  gi’eat 
Divine  Missionary,  who  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to 
repentance — came  to  seek  and  to  save  them  that  were  lost ;  who  declared 
himself  the  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners ;  whose  special  pleasure  it  is 
that  the  poor  shall  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them  ;  and  whose  solemn 
command  is,  that  his  servants  shall  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 
into  the  streets  and  lanes,  and  compel  the  famishing  multitudes  to  come 
in  to  the  Gospel  feast. 

Nor  is  this  effort  to  reach  and  bless  the  unevangelized,  by  the  labors 
of  devoted  colporteurs,  less  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  and  practice  of 
primitive  Christians,  who,  at  the  persecution  of  Stephen,  as  a  church — -as 
a  body  of  believers — to  the  number,  probably,  of  10,000  or  12,000,  went 
abroad  everywhere  preaching  the  word,  not  ofRcially,  but  with  warm 
hearts  telling  the  story  of  the  cross,  leading  sinners  to  Christ,  and  exem¬ 
plifying,  in  their  own  persons,  the  blessedness  and  power  of  Christianity. 
Why  should  not  every  private  modern  as  well  as  primitive  Christian  be 
a  missionary,  andybeZ  hound  to  make  direct  and  personal  efforts  in  all  the 
circles  where  they  move,  to  guide  men  to  the  Saviour  ?  Can  professors 
of  religion,  now,  have  primitive  piety  without  primitive  practice  ?  Can 
they  have  the  spirit  of  Christ,  without  sympathy  and  cooperation  with  him 
in  the  great  work  of  the  world’s  salvation — without  going  about,  as  he  did, 
continually  doing  good  ? 

Is  there  not  a  special  demand  for  this  kind  of  labor  in  the  newly  settled 


6 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


portions  of  our  country,  where  the  population  is  sparse,  composed  of  dif¬ 
ferent  nations,  languages,  and  religions;  where  the  people  are  just  strug¬ 
gling  to  erect  their  dwellings,  school-houses,  and  churches ;  have  very 
little  united  strength  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  ;  are  surrounded  with 
seductive  error  and  vice ;  and  where  tens  of  thousands  of  families  are 
without  the  Bible,  (500  families  in  a  county  being  sometimes  found  with¬ 
out  the  Scriptures;)  without  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel;  without  the 
Sabbath  and  the  day  school ;  growing  up  in  ignorance  and  vice;  and 
who  will  inevitably  perish  unless  speedily  reached  in  some  way  by  the 
Gospel  ?  In  what  way  can  they  be  reached  more  speedily,  more  econom¬ 
ically,  more  efficaciously,  in  the  absence  of  the  stated  ministry,  than  by 
the  colporteur  system,  carrying  the  messages  of  eternal  life  by  the  lips 
of  the  intelligent,  judicious,  and  warm-hearted  colporteur,  to  every  dark 
corner  and  habitation,  waking  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  great  con¬ 
cerns  of  the  soul ;  instructing  the  ignorant,  warning  the  wicked,  bringing 
hope  to  the  dying,  counteracting  the  influences  of  infidelity  and  false 
religion,  enkindling  the  desire,  and  preparing  the  way,  for  the  settled  min¬ 
istry  ;  and  then  stationing  in  every  destitute  dwelling  such  a  preacher  as 
Baxter  or  Bunyan,  to  preach  from  day  to  day,  and  from  year  to  year,  to 
the  present  generation  and  the  next,  and  to  deepen  and  follow  up  the  im¬ 
pression  which  has  been  made  by  the  personal  appeal  of  the  colporteur  ? 

The  character  of  the  men  emfoyed  as  colporteurs,  as  well  as  the 
adaptation  of  the  work  to  the  destitutions  of  our  country,  is  such  as  to 
inspire  confidence  in  the  enterprise,  and  hope  of  its  extensive  usefulness. 
Adopting  it  as  a  first  principle,  that  the  success  of  the  colporteur  work 
must  depend,  under  God,  upon  the  character  and  qualifications  of  the  men 
employed,  the  Society  have  taken  great  care  in  their  selection,  and  have 
in  general  been  successful,  as  they  believe,  in  sending  forth  intelligent, 
judicious,  pious,  and  efficient  laborers — self-denying  and  laborious  men — 
aiming  to  do  good  ;  and  who  usually  receive  but  $150  a  year  for  their 
self-sacrificinff  labors. 

o 

While  the  self-denial  of  these  men  will  call  forth  the  admiration  of  all, 
we  trust  the  benevolence  of  some  of  them,  who  have  contributed  from  their 
scanty  support  $50  at  one  time,  to  aid  in  the  support  of  more  colporteurs, 
will  encourage  many  of  the  friends  of  the  Society  to  go  and  do  likewise. 
The  Society  feel  great  confidence  in  bespeaking,  in  behalf  of  such  labor¬ 
ers,  the  warm-hearted  sympathy,  the  earnest  prayers,  and  the  hearty  Co- 
Operation  of  the  friends  of  Christ.  While  many  students  from  our  col¬ 
leges  and  theological  seminaries  have  engaged,  for  a  season,  in  this  work, 
it  is  worthy  of  special  remark,  that  they  have  uniformly  found  this  daily 
contact  with  the  souls  of  men  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  grace, 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


7 


one  of  the  best  scliools  of  liunian  nature,  and  one  of  the  best  prepara¬ 
tives  for  future  usefulness. 

Another  fact  worthy  of  special  notice,  in  the  operations  of  this  Society, 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  especially  in  its  colporteur  department,  is,  that 
it  becomes  an  auxiliary  to  all  the  other  branches  of  benevolent  effort.  If 
there  be  any  honor  to  which  this  Society,  amongst  the  great  sisterhood  of 
benevolent  institutions,  aspires  most  ardently,  it  is  that  recommended  by 
the  Saviour  :  He  that  will  be  greatest,  let  him  be  the  servant  of  all.  It 
desires  no  higher  privilege  than  to  cooperate  in  every  way  to  augment 
the  usefulness  of  every  laudable  agency  for  doing  good. 

And  first  of  all,  where  there  are  pastors,  the  Society,  its  agents,  and 
colporteurs,  make  it  a  special  object  to  hold  up  the  ministry  before  the 
people,  as  God’s  special  agency  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christ 
— an  agency  as  indispensable  in  the  moral  world,  as  the  sun  and  rains  of 
heaven  in  the  natural  world.  The  grand  aim  is,  to  help  the  living  min¬ 
istry  ;  and  we  believe  that  pastors  and  missionaries  so  regard  this  influ¬ 
ence.  The  Society’s  agents  and  colporteurs  are  generally  welcomed  in 
the  churches,  both  for  the  raising  of  funds  and  the  distribution  of  its  pub¬ 
lications  ;  and  we  believe  that  it  is  the  prevailing  conviction  of  pastors, 
that  a  better  thing  can  hardly  be  done  to  render  the  members  of  their 
churches  intelligent,  warm-hearted,  benevolent,  and  useful  Christians,  and 
to  awaken  a  religious  interest  among  the  impenitent,  than  to  have  them 
cooperate  with  the  devoted  colporteur  in  supplying  every  household  with 
those  evangelical  works,  which,  if  prayerfully  read,  cannot  fail  deeply  to 
impress  the  heart. 

The  Domestic  Missionary.,  also,  who  sometimes  has  a  whole  county,  at 
the  West  or  South,  for  his  field  of  labor,  and  who  feels  the  want  of  a  more 
general  diffusion  of  truth  among  the  people,  hails  the  colporteur  as  a  most 
important  helper  in  his  work,  and  feels  that  he  can  greatly  augment  his 
own  usefulness  by  having  every  house  supplied  with  the  word  of  life, 
and  the  standard  works  of  this  Society.  Multitudes  of  missionaries,  who 
have  enjoyed  but  small  advantages  for  study,  and  have  but  few  books 
suitable  for  a  minister’s  library,  have  rejoiced  to  have  these  works  brought 
to  their  doors,  and  have  given  abundant  evidence  that,  by  frequent  com¬ 
munion  with  such  men  of  God  as  Baxter,  they  have  imbibed  more  large¬ 
ly  his  spirit,  and  learned  more  of  the  grand  secret  of  his  usefulness. 

The  pastor  and  missionary,  moreover,  often  see  multitudes,  in  their 
respective  fields,  living  in  ignorance  and  error,  and  seldom  or  never  visit¬ 
ing  the  house  of  God,  whom  they  cannot  reach,  and  who  may  be  left  to 
perish,  unless  reached  by  some  other  agency.  If  the  pastor  and  mission¬ 
ary  would  bring  beaten  oil  into  the  sanctuary,  perform  pastoral  labor, 


8 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


visit  the  sick  and  the  dying,  preside  over  the  cause  of  education  and  be¬ 
nevolence,  and  attend  ecclesiastical  meetings ;  can  they  also  be  expected 
to  look  up  and  take  care  of  all  the  ignorant  and  perishing  beyond  the 
limits  of  their  own  congregations,  even  if  they  have  the  zeal  of  mar¬ 
tyrs  ?  If,  then,  it  shall  no  longer  be  said,  by  perishing  multitudes,  to 
the  reproach  of  the  church,  “No  man  careth  for  our  souls,”  laymen  must 
feel  that  they  have  an  important  agency  to  perform,  in  cooperation  with 
the  ministry,  and  colporteurs  must  be  sent  forth,  in  far  greater  numbers, 
into  the  highways  and  hedges  with  the  Gospel  message. 

Besides  cooperating  with  the  pastor  and  missionary,  the  colporteur 
has  the  privilege  of  aiding  the  Sunday-school  cause,  by  occasionally  or¬ 
ganizing  and  resuscitating  Sabbath-schools,  and  furnishing  them  with  ap¬ 
propriate  books.  He  aids  the  Temperance  cause,  by  occasional  lectures 
on  the  subject,  by  establishing  Temperance  Societies,  and  by  scattering 
thousands  of  the  most  powerful  temperance  appeals  over  the  field  which 
he  occupies.  The  colporteur  is  permitted,  also,  frequently  to  aid  the  Bible 
cause,  in  carrying  the  word  of  life  to  the  destitute,  wherever  no  Auxil¬ 
iary  Bible  Society  is  now  doing,  or  is  about  to  do  the  work ;  and  while  he 
thus  deposites  the  sacred  volume  in  destitute  households,  he  accompanies 
the  heavenly  gift  with  such  an  advocate  and  preacher  as  Baxter,  Bunyan, 
or  Nelson,  to  call  up  the  attention  of  the  people  to  its  high  claims ;  to 
explain  its  divine  mysteries  ;  to  ward  off  the  cavils  of  infidelity;  and  to 
press  its  holy  principles  upon  the  conscience  and  the  heart. 

The  wide  circulation  of  these  publications  by  the  colporteur,  greatly 
aids  and  encourages  the  private  Christian,  in  his  personal  efforts  to  do  good  : 
sometimes  by  furnishing  him  with  a  circulating  library,  to  be  lent  through 
his  neighborhood;  sometimes  by  securing  the  monthly  distribution  of 
Tracts  over  the  same  field ;  and  often  by  imparting  to  him  such  enlightened 
views  of  truth  and  duty,  that  he  can  cherish  the  Christian  hope  only  as 
he  finds  himself  engaged  in  advancing  the  great  interests  of  Christ’s  king¬ 
dom  on  the  earth.  An  humble  Christian  in  Western  New  York,  some 
time  since,  procured  Tracts  and  faithfully  circulated  them  through  his 
neighborhood,  and  soon  had  the  happiness  to  see  a  religious  interest  awak¬ 
ened  amongst  the  people — about  sixty  were  hopefully  converted,  and,  on 
uniting  with  the  church,  twenty  ascribed  their  first  religious  impressions 
to  the  reading  of  those  publications. 

The  distribution  of  these  works  over  our  country  exerts  a  permanent 
influence.  Every-well-bound  volume  of  standard  character,  and  of  ac¬ 
knowledged  worth,  may  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  circulating  and  neigh¬ 
borhood  preacher,  visiting  from  house  to  house,  often  from  one  town  to 
another ;  and  not  unfrequently  will  such  preachers  live  to  preach  the 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


9 


Gospel  with  poM’cr  and  success  for  generations  to  come.  Two  such  ven¬ 
erable  preachers,  wlio  had  evidently  seen  extensive  and  hard  service, 
both  in  the  old  world  and  the  new,  were  recently  found  in  the  great  val¬ 
ley  of  the  West,  who  had  been  inducted  into  the  ministry  by  Luther  him¬ 
self  ;  had  fdled  their  high  vocations  for  300  years ;  and  had  preached  to 
the  men  of  nine  generations.  What  Christian  would  not  exult  in  the 
honor  and  privilege  of  planting  such  a  preacher  on  the  walls  of  Zion  ? 

It  is  worthy  of  special  remark,  that  the  increase  of  intelligent  piety  in 
the  church  is  greatly  promoted  by  the  extensive  diffusion  of  these  soul- 
inspiring  works.  Such  an  elevated,  manly,  and  scriptural  piety  as  char¬ 
acterized  primitive  Christians,  and  soon  overspread  the  civilized  world — 
such  a  piety  is  now  the  great  desideratum  in  the  churches — the  main¬ 
spring  which,  under  God,  must  give  life,  and  power,  and  success  to  all 
the  movements  of  Christian  benevolence. 

Of  numbers,  learning,  wealth,  and  general  resources,  we  have  enough 
amongst  the  two  and  a  half  million  of  Christians  in  this  country,  to 
say  nothing  of  tlie  millions  in  other  lands,  speedily  to  carry  the  Gospel 
over  the  earth,  if  all  those  Christians  were  but  baptized  with  the  spirit  of 
Brainerd  and  of  Martyn,  of  James  B.  Taylor  and  Harlan  Page.  And 
what  means  is  more  effectual  in  producing  such  a  spirit  in  others,  than 
bringing  their  minds  and  hearts  directly  in  contact  with  these  men  of  God, 
that  they  may  feel  the  warm  pulsations  of  their  souls,  drink  largely  of 
their  spirit,  learn  the  secret  of  their  power  and  usefulness,  and  take  hold 
by  strong  faith,  as  they  did,  of  the  hand  that  moves  the  world  ? 

Such  a  spirit  of  identity  with  Christ  and  his  cause,  associated  with  the 
extended  circulation  of  these  works  over  our  whole  land,  would  hardly 
fail  to  be  connected  with  those  gracious  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
w'hich  are  the  hope  of  the  church,  of  our  country,  and  the  world.  Sucli 
revivals  of  true  religion  have  seldom  been  enjoyed  beyond  the  reach  of 
evangelical  truth,  and  have  been  limited  in  their  extent ;  while  large  por¬ 
tions  of  our  land,  being  unsupplied  with  such  truth,  have  been  like  the 
mountains  of  Gilboa,  on  which  there  was  neither  rain  nor  dew.  Let 
evangelical  truth  but  come  into  every  dark  corner  and  habitation  of  our 
land,  in  such  works  as  Edwards  on  Revivals,  and  others  of  kindred  char¬ 
acter,  the  circulation  of  which  God  has  blessed  in  many  revivals  of  re¬ 
ligion — let  such  works  be  everywhere  diffused,  and  may  we  not  hope 
that  the  Divine  Spirit  will  make  his  own  truth  efficacious  in  producing 
such  pure  and  glorious  revivals  as  this  nation  has  never  yet  seen  ? 

Nor  is  the  perpetuation  of  our  lilerties  unconnected  with  the  diffusion 
of  divine  truth.  The  grand  experiment  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
now  going  forward  in  America,  it  is  well  known,  can  never  be  conducted 


10 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


to  a  successful  issue,  but  by  educating  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  intellect, 
of  the  nation.  We  may  boast  of  our  national  literature,  of  our  bound¬ 
less  resources,  and  our  national  prowess ;  but  none  of  these  can  save 
us.  Nothing  short  of  the  great  principles  of  God’s  government,  as  de¬ 
veloped  in  his  word,  and  brought  into  contact  with  the  conscience  and 
the  heart  of  the  nation,  can  preserve  us  from  that  grovelling  sensuality, 
that  luxurious  effeminacy,  and  that  political  corruption,  which  have  been 
the  ruin  of  all  former  republics.  If  this  almost  boundless  country,  with 
its  vast  resources,  is  capable  of  sustaining  four  hundred  millions  of  in¬ 
habitants,  equal  to  one  half  of  the  present  population  of  the  globe ;  and 
if,  with  our  present  ratio  of  increase,  we  are  to  have,  by  the  close  of  the 
present  century,  one  hundred  millions  of  souls ;  if  millions  of  our  popu¬ 
lation  are  now  without  the  Gospel ;  and  if  all  our  efforts  for  the  intellect¬ 
ual  and  moral  improvement  of  the  people  do  not  keep  up  with  the  increase 
of  our  population,  who  can  estimate  the  importance  of  speedily  filling 
our  whole  land  with  Christian  light  and  knowledge  ?  And  if  our  patri¬ 
otic  forefathers  cheerfully  poured  forth  their  treasure  and  blood  like 
water,  to  achieve  our  liberties,  shall  not  the  sons  of  the  patriots,  inherit¬ 
ing  the  spirit  of  their  noble  ancestors,  cheerfully  contribute  all  the  means 
which  are  requisite  to  make  this  nation  wise  and  good,  great  and  happy, 
and  perpetuate  our  institutions  to  the  latest  posterity  ? 

The  great  question  of  our  national  liberty  is  rendered  the  more  in¬ 
tensely  interesting  at  the  present  moment,  and  the  necessity  of  employing 
the  mightiest  energies  for  the  diffusion  of  Christian  truth  is  rendered  the 
more  urgent,  by  the  vast  nunibers  and  rapid  increase  of  our  foreign  popu¬ 
lation.  Though  many  of  our  most  intelligent,  refined,  and  worthy  citi¬ 
zens  are  from  the  old  world,  yet  eveay  one  knows  that  this  is  by  no  means 
the  general  character  of  the  foreign  emigrants.  While  four  millions  of 
foreigners,  now  on  our  shores,  are  inviting  their  friends  to  come  to  this 
land  “flowing  with  milk  and  honey,”  no  one  can  doubt  but  the  tide  of 
emigration  will  roll  in  upon  us  in  a  deeper  and  broader  flood  from  year  to 
year.  And  as  we  cannot  shut  the  door  upon  them,  and  ought  not  if  we 
could,  is  it  not  an  enlightened  and  Christian  policy,  as  well  as  duty,  to 
open  wide  the  arms  of  national  friendship  to  receive  them,  so  that  we  may 
gain  their  confidence,  and  exert  an  influence  over  them  for  good  ?  Re¬ 
membering  that  our  fathers  were  foreigners,  let  us  have  a  heart  to  feel 
for  strangers,  and  instead  of  meeting  them,  as  has  too  often  been  done, 
with  coldness  and  distrust,  let  us  meet  them  with  the  warm  heart  and  the 
genuine  benevolence  of  the  Christian — invite  them  to  evangelical  churches, 
furnish  them  with  Bibles  and  religious  books,  gather  their  children  into 
the  Sabbath-school,  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  to  them,  and  may 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


11 


we  not  confidently  hope  that  the  Gospel  will  become  the  power  of  God 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  to  tlieir  salvation  ? 

It  has  been  diflicult,  in  former  years,  to  exert  a  direct  influence  over 
emigrants,  for  want  of  a  medium  of  communication.  But,  for  the  last  few 
years.  Providence  has  furnished  this  Society  with  foreign  cjlporteurs — 
German,  French,  Irish,  and  Norwegian — men  of  warm-hearted  piety 
and  good  education,  numbers  of  them  converts  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  deeply  interested  for  the  salvation  of  their  brethren ;  and,  being 
well  acquainted  with  their  habits  and  national  peculiarities,  and  carrying 
them  the  Gospel  in  their  own  tongues,  they  are  able  to  exert  a  powerful 
influence  over  them  for  good  ;  and  hundreds  who,  on  coming  to  this 
country,  were  buried  in  the  darkness  of  rationalism  or  the  superstition  of 
popery,  have,  we  trust,  been  brought  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  God. 

More  than  one  hundred  different  books  and  Tracts  have  been  published 
in  the  German  language,  with  a  view  of  reaching  the  two  millions  or  more 
of  Germans  now  in  our  country,  who  are  generally  able  to  read,  and 
receive  with  interest  and  gratitude  our  evangelical  publications.  One 
German  colporteur  in  Ohio  has  recently  reported  near  one  hundred  hopeful 
conversions  amongst  Catholics,  in  connection  with  his  labors  and  the  cir¬ 
culation  of  books,  on  his  field ;  and  another  German  laborer  has  reported 
more  than  one  hundred  foreigners,  in  the  southern  counties  of  Indiana, 
who  have  given  evidence,  as  he  thinks,  of  real  conversion.  Do  not  such 
facts  show  that  the  hand  of  God  is  in  this  work ;  that  Roman  Catholics, 
as  well  as  other  men,  may  be  converted  ;  and  that  the  same  Gospel  which 
was  mighty  in  the  hand  of  Luther,  in  overturning  the  deep  foundations 
of*papal  darkness  and  superstition  in  the  old  world,  will  be  powerful  in 
this  land  of  Christian  light  and  knowledge,  in  the  conversion  of  our  Cath¬ 
olic  emigrants  ?  In  view  of  the  progress  of  the  work  already  made,  may 
it  not  be  confidently  hoped,  that  God’s  benevolent  plan,  in  bringing  them 
by  millions  to  our  doors,  is  not,  as  we  have  sometimes  feared,  to  destroy 
this  nation,  but  that  we  should  bless  and  save  them  ? 

Special  importance  is  given  to  the  colporteur  enterprise,  from  the  fact 
that  it  admits  of  speedy  and  extensive  application  to  our  whole  country. 
Such  are  the  exigences  of  our  country,  that  we  need  immediate,  as  well 
as  powerful  Christian  action  in  its  behalf.  With  the  best  efforts  that  can 
be  made,  it  will  take  a  considerable  number  of  years  to  get  day-schools, 
Sabbath-schools,  academies,  colleges,  churches,  and  ministers  established 
in  every  part  of  our  newly-settled  territory.  In  the  mean  time,  until  these 
great  orbs  of  day  can  be  brought  to  shine  fully  upon  our  nation,  we  need 
some  other  sun  that  can  more  quickly  pour  its  life-giving  beams  upon  the 


12 


TO  THE  EVANGELICAL 


moral  darkness  of  our  land.  While  vve  are  now  rapidly  laying  the  foun¬ 
dations  of  a  great  nation;  while  millions  of  our  inhabitants  are  without 
evangelical  preaching,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  families  are  desti¬ 
tute  of  the  word  of  God  and  of  Christian  books ;  while  organized  infi¬ 
delity  is  putting  forth  new  efforts  to  blot  the  sun  of  revelation  from  our 
heavens ;  while  false  religion  is  fast  preoccupying  the  recently-settled 
portions  of  our  country,  and  intrenching  itself  against  the  future  attacks 
of  the  Gospel ;  while  intemperance  is  rolling  its  burning  wave  over  our 
land ;  while  a  corrupt  and  licentious  press  is  poisoning  the  mind  and  cor¬ 
rupting  the  heart  of  the  nation ;  while  a  deep  and  broad  tide  of  foreign 
emigration,  with  its  corruptions  and  anti-republican  tendencies,  is  rolling 
in  upon  us  from  the  old  world ;  while  the  large  cities  of  our  country,  the 
great  centres  and  fountains  of  influence,  are  manufacturing  and  stereo¬ 
typing  the  vices  of  the  nation — we  say,  that  while  these  and  other  mighty 
evils,  to  which  we  might  allude,  are  abroad  in  our  land,  are  now  sapping 
the  foundations  of  our  liberties,  and  calling  to  heaven  for  vengeance  upon 
us,  we  need  some  mighty  influence,  which  can  be  applied  quickly,  to  roll 
back  these  floods  of  ungodliness.  Such  an  influence,  in  some  good  meas¬ 
ure,  as  we  believe,  is  the  American  Colporteur  system — a  system  pre¬ 
eminently  adapted  to  bless  the  unevangelized  masses,  to  supply,  as  far  as 
possible  for  the  time  being,  the  lack  of  ministerial  service — combining,  as 
it  happily  does,  the  power  of  prayer,  a  sanctified  literature,  and  personal 
eflbrts  for  the  conversion  of  the  destitute ;  and  all  rendered  efficacious  by 
the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Here,  then,  are  the  destitutions  and  dangers  of  our  country  fully  be¬ 
fore  us,  to  excite  our  sympathies,  to  awaken  our  fears,  to  call  forth  our 
benevolence.  Here  are  our  steam  presses,  issuing  the  volumes  of  heav¬ 
enly  truth.  Here  are  hundreds  of  the  sons  of  the  church,  burning  with 
desire  to  go  forth  and  bear  the  precious  treasure  to  the  perishing,  and 
invite  sinners  to  the  Saviour.  And  here  are  thousands  of  evangelical 
churches,  blessed  with  an  overflowing  prosperity  ;  and  nothing  is  wanting 
but  a  liberal  appropriation  of  that  treasure,  in  order  to  double  quickly 
the  number  of  our  laborers,  and  carry  the  Gospel  to  every  dark  corner  and 
habitation  of  the  land.  With  such  appalling  destitutions  before  us  ;  witq 
the  perils  of  our  nation  staring  us  in  the  face ;  with  such  wonderful  facil¬ 
ities  for  doino;  the  work,  should  the  friends  of  this  Institution  be  satisfied 
with  having  only  about  two  hundred  colporteurs  in  the  field  ? 

It  is  confidently  believed  that  nothing  is  needed  to  call  forth  the  requi¬ 
site  interest,  sympathy,  and  resources  of  the  evangelical  ministry  and 
churches,  but  to  spread  the  subject  before  them,  which  it  has  been  our 
design  in  some  measure  to  do  in  this  communication. 

O 


MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


13 


Owing  to  tlio  limited  luimljcr  of  agents  in  tlie  field,  it  is  impossible  for 
them  to  visit  and  address  thousands  of  churches,  which  would  be  deeply 
interested  in  this  cause,  and  cheerfully  contribute  for  its  advancement. 
The  respected  and  beloved  ministers  presiding  over  these  churches  who 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  this  great  work,  it  is  hoped,  will  take  pleasure  in 
bringing  the  subject  fully  before  them  at  some  convenient  period.  And 
in  order  that  the  subject  may  not  be  overlooked,  amid  other  numerous 
claims,  the  Committee  beg  leave  to  suggest  that  a  collection  or  subscrip¬ 
tion  be  taken  up  for  the  American  Tract  Society  as  soon  as  may  be 
practicable  after  the  reception  of  this  document.  A  small  contribution 
of  $5,  $10,  $20,  or  $50  from  each  of  the  churches  which  would  rejoice 
to  take  part  in  this  work  if  the  claims  of  the  Society  were  brought  before 
them,  would  greatly  aid  the  Institution  in  the  effort  to  extend,  as  speedily 
as  possible,  the  blessings  of  the  Colporteur  enterprise  over  our  land,  and 
especially  over  the  destitute  regions  of  the  West  and  South.  A  liberal 
collection  will  be  the  more  certainly  and  easily  obtained,  if  the  pastor 
will  give  notice  of  the  same  on  a  previous  Sabbath,  with  a  brief  state¬ 
ment  of  the  object,  and  an  announcement  that  he  will  preach  a  sermon 
in  behalf  of  the  Society ;  or  where  a  sermon  cannot  be  preached,  this 
communication,  or  parts  of  it,  may  be  publicly  read,  and  accom_panied  by 
such  remarks  as  the  occasion  may  suggest. 

We  are  aware  that  the  objects  of  benevolence  are  now  so  multiplied 
that  ministers  feel  some  delicacy  in  bringing  them  before  their  people  j 
and  yet  it  has  been  almost  uniformly  found,  that  whenever  this  cause  is 
presented  to  evangelical  churches  it  awakens  a  deep  interest,  and  many 
are  ready  to  exclaim,  “  The  Colporteur  enterprise  is  a  noble  work.  It 
begins  at  the  right  point.  It  reaches  the  masses  who  most  need  the  Gos¬ 
pel.  We  will  cheerfully  aid  that  cause.”  We  confidently  believe, 
dear  brethren,  that  you  will  find  such  to  be  the  feelings  and  language 
of  your  churches,  and  that  they  will  bless  the  Lord,  and  the  Society, 
and  you,  for  having  the  cause  brought  before  them.  If  your  congrega¬ 
tions  are  weak,  and  in  debt,  as  is  often  the  case,  $5,  or  $10,  or  $20,  for 
this  cause,  instead  of  making  them  poorer,  may,  as  you  know,  only  be 
scattering  seed  which,  by  the  divine  blessing,  will  not  fail  to  bring  them 
an  abundant  harvest;  so  that  while  watering  others,  they  will  themselves 
be  watered.  If  your  church  is  feeble,  and  in  special  need  of  publications, 
the  amount  contributed  may  be  remitted  to  procure  such  books  and 
Tracts  as  may  be  desired.  The  Evangelical  Family  Library,  of  15 
volumes,  may  be  had,  for  the  minister  or  the  church,  for  $6  50  ;  and 
the  Christian  Library,  of  45  volumes,  for  $20.  Some  churches  find  it 
a  pleasant  mode  of  aiding  the  Society,  to  constitute  their  pastor  a  Life 


14 


TO  EVANGELICAL  MINISTERS  AND  CHURCHES. 


Member,  by  a  contribution  of  820,  or  a  Life  Director,  by  the  contribu¬ 
tion  of  850,  and  thus  entitle  him  annually  to  draw  from  the  Society, 
Tracts  or  other  publications,  to  the  amount  of  one  dollar,  if  a  member, 
or  two  dollars,  if  a  director.  Are  there  not  some  wealthy  gentlemen 
and  ladies  in  your  church,  who,  on  reading  this  circular,  would  be  glad 
to  make  themselves  Life  Members,  or  Life  Directors  ?  And  may  there 
not  be  others  who  will  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  pay  8150  for  the  salary 
of  a  colporteur,  as  many  benevolent  individuals  have  done  ?  May  not 
half  a  dozen  friends  of  this  cause,  or  the  members  of  a  single  church  and 
congregation,  unite  in  the  support  of  a  colporteur?  It  may  be  mentioned 
as  an  occasion  of  gratitude  to  God,  and  of  encouragement  to  effort,  that  a 
benevolent  gentleman  in  the  South,  having  recently  received  special 
benefit  from  an  evangelical  volume,  became  deeply  interested  in  having 
such  works  widely  diffused  over  our  whole  country,  and  generously  pro¬ 
posed  to  the  Society  to  pay  the  salaries  of  twenty  colporteurs,  for  four 
years,  812,000  ;  having  paid  83,000  for  the  first  year.  And  will  you 
not  gladly  introduce  among  your  people  the  American  Messenger,  a 
monthly  newspaper  published  by  the  Society,  which  now  has  a  circula¬ 
tion  of  100,000,  and  is  furnished  at  six  copies  for  81?  twenty  copies  for 
83,  and  forty  copies  for  85  ? 

Besides  thus  aiding  the  Society  by  your  contributions  and  efforts, 
will  you  not  also,  dear  brethren,  aid  us  by  your  prayers — that  God  will 
give  divine  efficacy  to  the  truth  diffused — raise  up  and  send  forth  more 
laborers  into  the  whitening  field — make  all  the  officers,  agents,  and  col¬ 
porteurs  of  the  Society  men  of  God,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  full  of 
the  Floly  Ghost  ?  And  may  you  not  aid  us  further  in  looking  out  intel¬ 
ligent,  judicious,  pious,  and  efficient  colporteurs — in  cooperating  with 
those  already  in  the  field — in  giving  us  facts  in  regard  to  new  and  desti¬ 
tute  fields — in  bringing  this  cause  before  other  churches  besides  your 
own,  or  before  ecclesiastical  bodies — inducing  them  to  raise  funds 
for  the  support  of  a  colporteur,  and  perhaps  recommending  some  quali¬ 
fied  person  for  their  field  ?  And  finally,  by  causing  this  circular  to  be 
read  by  warm-hearted  Christians,  especially  the  wealthy,  may  not  indi¬ 
viduals  be  found  who  will  give  liberally  themselves,  and  induce  others 
to  give  to  this  sacred  cause  ?  In  thus  cooperating  in  this  blessed  work, 
we  pray  God,  that  the  blessing  of  many  ready  to  perish  may  descend 
upon  you,  and  that  having  been  wise  to  win  souls  to  Christ,  and  having 
turned  many  to  righteousness,  you  may  at  last  shine  as  stars  in  the  firma¬ 
ment  of  heaven  for  ever  and  ever. 


VOLUMES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


VOLUMES  12MO. 

Poffcs.  Sheep. 

fD’AubigiK^’s  History  of  the  Eefomia- 
tion,  a  new  translation  revised  by  the 
Aiitiior.  I  vols.,  each  450  pages,  elotli 


c.xtra,  $1  7r>cts . 1823  50 

Baxter’s  Saints’  Host,  larfrc  type,  cloth. 

(in  8vo,  12.i  lialfcalf,) . 540...  .62.^ 

Jay’s  Morning  E.xcreises, . G04 - 75 

Elavd’s  Method  of  Grace, . 560....  56 

$  I'Tavcl’s  I'onntain  of  Life, . 559. .. .  5> 

^  Mason’s  Spiritual  Treasury, . 528 ....  56 

Ilall  s  Scripture  History, . 516.. ..56 

Gregory’s  l.etters  on  Intidelity, . 480. . . . 56 

President  Edwards  on  llevivals, . 446 - 50 

Hopkins  on  Ten  Commandments, ...... .442. ..  .50 

Memoir  of  Mrs.  Graham, . 440 ....  50 

Venn’s  Complete  Duty  of  Man, . 430...  .50 

^  Owen  on  Forgiveness,  Psalm  130, . 429.  .•  .50 

t  Mem.  of  Mrs.  Sarah  L.H.  Smith, . 396.  ...50 

f  Ahbott’s  Young  Christian, . 395.... 56 

Nelson  on  Intidelity, . 352.... 44 

Dr.  Spring’s  Bible  Not  of  Man, . 319 _ 44 

Sheep. 

Sacred  Songs,  (Hymns  and  Tunes,) . 380 ....  56 

Do.  (Patent  Notes,) . 380. ...56 


Pafjes.  cloth. pap.coT- 


James’  An.xious  Inquirer, . 199 - 25....  10 

Mason  on  Self-Knowledge, . 191 ...  .25. ...  10 

Child’s  Book  on  the  Sabbath, . 201. ...20  ...10 

.James’  Young  Man  from  Home,  .  .187 ...  .25. ...  10 
t  Gallaudet’s  Child’s  Book  on  Re¬ 
pentance,  . 147. .. .20. .. . 10 

Henry  on  Meekness, . 158. .. .  15. .. .  8 

Baxter’s  Dying  Thoughts, . 132...  15....  6^ 

“  Life,  chiefly  by  himself, .  .144...  .15... .  6^ 

y  Alleine’s  Alarm, . 164. .. .  15. .. .  8 

Keith’s  Evidences  of  Prophecy,  144. .. .  15. .. .  6^ 
t  Life  of  Rev.  Samuel  Kilpin,  ....  156. ...  15  ...  8 

Fuller’s  Backslider, . 122 ....  15 -  8 

$  Flavel  on  Keeping  the  Heart,. .  .108 - 12^. . .  6| 

§  Flavel’s  Touchstone, .  96....12A...  6^ 

Redeemer’s  Last  Command, . 112. .. .  12A. . .  6;J: 

Sabbath  Manual.  By  Dr.  Edwards. 


Temper.  Manual.  By  Dr.  Edwards,  90....  12^...  6^: 

Beecher  on  Intemperance, . 108. .. .  12^. . .  6| 

Memoir  of  Normand  Smith, . 72. .. .  12^. . .  6,^ 

Self-Deception, .  72....  122... 

Scudder’s  Appeal  to  Mothers .  65. .. .  12^. . .  6^ 

Social  Hymns,  (large  32mo,) . 468 ....  31  sheep. 

Hymns  to  S.  Songs,  (large  32mo,).304. ..  .25  do. 


VOLUMES  18MO. 


Pages,  cloth. 

1  Memoir  of  Dr.  Payson, . 486 ....  37| 

t  Memoir  of  Mrs.  H.  L.  Winslow, . 480. . .  .37| 

t  Memoir  of  James  B.  Taylor, . 444....  37^ 

§  Memoir  of  Rev.  Dr.  Buchanan, . 478. ..  .37^- 

$  Guide  to  Young  Disciples,. . . . 465. .. .  37^ 

f  Bunyan’s  Pilgrim’s  Progress, . 464 _ 372 

Elijah  the  Tishbite, . 458. . . . 372 

Volume  on  Infidelity, . 456...  .37^ 

Doddridge’s  Rise  and  Progress, . 452...  .37^ 

t  Life  of  Martyn, . 444 _ 37^ 

Baxter’s  Saints’  Rest, . 444...  .37J 

Edwards’  History  of  Redemption, . 446.. ..37^ 

Pike’s  Persuasives  to  Early  Piety, . 438...  .37^ 

Reformation  in  Europe, . 432.... 37^ 

Practical  Piety,  by  Hannah  More, . 412...  .37^ 

Anecdotes  for  the  Family  Circle, . 408.... 37^ 

Jay’s  Christian  Contemplated, . 380...  .37^ 

J  Spirit  of  Popery, . 378 - 37^ 

f  $  Wilberforce’s  Practical  View, . 375...  .37^ 

i  §  Life  of  David  Brainerd, . 360. ..  .31 

Melvill’s  Bible  Thoughts, . 354...  .31 

Mammon,  or  Covetousness  the  Sin 

of  the  Church.  By  Harris, . 291. ..  .25 

t  Life  of  Samuel  Pearce, . 288....  25 

t  ^  Edwards  on  the  Alfections, . 276. ..  .25 

cloth,  pap.cov. 

Universalism  not  of  God, . 258 ....  25 ... .  12^ 

t  Memoir  of  Hannah  Hobbie . 252. ..  .25  - .. . 

Ifife  of  John  Newton, . 244. ..  .25. .. . 

Gurney  on  Love  to  God, . 242. ..  .25. .. . 

t  Memoir  of  H.  Page, . 230 - 25 _ 12 J 

t  Nevins’  Practical  'Thoughts, - 2.30 - 25 _ 12^ 

t  Abbott’s  Mother  at  Home, . 177. ..  .25. .. .  10 

t  Abbott’s  Child  at  Home, . 173 _ 25 _ 10 

OallaudeV s  Scripture  Biography — 

Price  ^1  75  a  set  of  seven  vols. 

t  Vol.  1,  Adam  to  Jacob . 200 _ 25.... 

i  Vol.  2,  Life  of  Joseph . 210 _ 25. .. . 

i  Vol.  3,  Life  of  Moses,  Parti,  216. ..  .25. .. . 

j  Vol.  4,  Life  of  Moses,  Part  2, 268  _ 25.... 

j  Vol.  5,  Joshua,  Judges, . 288 - 25 _ 

j  Vol.  6,  Ruth  and  Samuel, ..198 _ 25 _ 

j  Vol.  7,  Life  of  David, . 299...  .25... . 

$  Gallaudet’s  Youth’s  Book  of 

,  Natural  Theology, . 231. ..  .25. .. . 

Nevins’  Thoughts  on  Popery,  . ..  .216. .. .  25. .. .  12^ 

Religion  and  Eternal  Life, . 250 ....  25 ... . 

Bogue’s  Evidences  of  Christianity,  2.52...  .25... . 
Dibble’s  Thoughts  on  Missions,  . .  .225. ..  .25. .. . 

Baxter’s  Call,  large  type, . 220 - 18.... 

“  “  small  type, . 135...-  — ....  64 

Morison’s  Counsels  to  Young  Men 

on  Modern  Infidelity, . 201...  .25...  .10 


BOOKS  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

Pap.cov. 

+  Peep  of  Day, . 228  -  25 - 12^ 

j  Line  upon  Line, . 258 - 25  ...12.A 

+  Precept  upon  Precept, . 256 ....  25 ... .  12| 

t  Mem.  of  Nathan  W.  Dickerman,  140. .. .  15. .. .  8 

t  Memoir  of  Mary  Lothrop, . 108. .. .  15. .. .  6^ 

t  Memoir  of  John  Mooney  Mead, ..  118 ....  15 ... .  8 
t  Memoir  of  Henry  Obookiah,  . .. .  124. ..  .15 . .. .  8 

t  Gallaudet’s  Life  of  Josiah, . 108. .. .  15. .. .  6^ 

i  Dairyman’s  Daughter,  etc., . 185...  .20...  .10 

i  Trees,  Fruits,  and  Flowers  of  the 

Bible . 120.. ..20.. ..10 

t  Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain,  etc.,  98 ....  15 ... . 

t  Fool’s  Pence,  etc., .  94....  15....  6^ 

t  Spoiled  Child,  David  Baldwin,etc. 117 - 15....  6:j: 

i  Village  in  the  Mountains,  etc., .  .108...  .15... .  6| 
i  Little  Henry  and  his  Bearer,  etc.,  108 ....  15 ... .  6| 

I  The  Widow’s  Son,  etc., . 108. .. .  15. .. .  6^ 

j;  Eliza  Cunningham,  etc., . 108...  .15....  6:^ 

Charles  L.  Winslow, . 108 . 6j 

t  Amelia,  the  Pastor’s  Daughter,.  .100. ...  12^. . .  64,- 
t  Elizabeth  Bales.  By  J.  A.  James,  89....12|V...  6^ 
I  Newton’s  Letters  to  an  Ado])ted 

Daughter, .  86. .. .  12.A. . .  6^ 

t  Emily  Maria, .  72....12|...  fij: 

Memoir  of  Caroline  Hyde, .  72.  ...12^...  6^: 

Raising  of  Lazarus, . 80....  12^...  64 

Foster’s  Appeal  to  the  Young, . 69....  12^...  64 

t  Letters  to  Little  Children, (13cuts,)108...  .122-.  •  •  ^ 
i  Peet’s  Scripture  Lessons, (27 cuts)  122...  .25... . 
i  Scri[)ture  Animals,  (16  cuts,) ....  98. ..  .20 . .. . 

The  Withered  Branch  Revived,. . .  72  ...12.|...  OJ 
t  Children  of  the  Bible,  (8  cuts,). .  52. .. .  15. .. . 
j  Child’s  Book  of  Bible  Stories, 

(16mo,)  . 91 - 15 - 

POCKET  MANUALS,  64MO. 

Pages,  cl’h  gilt.  M.  tk. 

Daily  Food  for  Christians, . 192. .  .10. .  .15 _ 25 

Mason’s  Crumbs, . 176. .  .10. .  .15. .  .25 

Heavenly  Manna, . 128. .  .10. .  .15. .  .25 

Daily  Texts, . 128. .  .10. .  .15. .  .25 

Diary,  (Daily  Texts  interleaved,)  256. .  .12.^.  .18. .  .30 

IN  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES. 

In  German,  31  volumes  of  various  sizes. 

In  French,  12  volumes. 

In  Welsh,  3  volumes. 

Also  upwards  of  1000  Tracts  and  Children’s  Tracts, 
separate,  bound,  or  in  packets,  many  of  them  with 
beautiful  engravings— in  English,  French,  Spanish, 
Portuguese,  Italian,  Dutch,  Danish,  Swedish  and 
Welsh. 

t  With  steel  engravings.  J  With  wood  engrav¬ 
ings.  §  Abridged. 


FACTS  RESPECTING  THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


The  American  Tract  Society  consists  of  members  of  different  evangelical  denomi¬ 
nations,  united  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and  him  crucified,  by  its  pub¬ 
lications,  associated  with  personal  Christian  effort,  at  home  and  abroad,  wherever  the 
way  of  access  is  opened.  The  Board  of  Directors  embraces  members  of  thirteen 
denominations.  The  Publishing  Committee  consists  of  a  member  from  each  of  six 
communions,  and  no  work  is  issued  unless  unanimously  approved.  More  than  1,200 
publications,  of  which  about  200  are  volumes,  have  been  stereotyped,  in  ten  languages, 
besides  more  than  2,000  approved  for  publication  at  foreign  stations. 

The  services  of  the  Board,  Committee,  and  Treasurer,  some  of  whom  have  been 
the  largest  donors  to  the  Society,  are  wholly  gratuitous.  The  Society’s  house  was  pro¬ 
vided  by  means  of  donations  for  that  object,  from  New  York  City,  in  1825,  and  the 
proceeds  of  rents  of  parts  not  yet  occupied  by  the  Society,  without  drawing  any  thing 
from  contributions  for  the  general  purposes.  The  prices  of  the  publications  are  intended 
to  be  such  that  the  Society  shall  merely  receive  back  by  the  total  sales  the  amount 
expended  in  issuing  such  as  are  sold,  a  discount  being  made  to  Auxiliaries  which  sus¬ 
tain  Depositories,  and  to  merchants  and  others  who  buy  to  sell  again — the  cost  of  books 
granted  being  borne  by  donations  to  the  Society. 

The  donation  of  ^20  at  one  time  constitutes  a  Life  Member  ;  the  addition  of  ^30, 
or  ^50  at  one  time,  a  Life  Director.  Members  may  draw,  annually,  Tracts  or  vol¬ 
umes,  not  in  extra  printing  or  binding,  to  the  value  of  ^1,  and  Directors  to  the  value 
of  ^2, if  applied  for  within  the  year.  The  usual  salary  of  a  Colporteur  for  the  destitute 
parts  of  our  country  is  ^150  ;  besides  which,  books  to  not  far  from  the  same  amount 
must  be  furnished  for  the  supply  of  the  destitute,  and  his  necessary  travelling  expenses 
be  borne,  which  are  generally  small  while  in  the  field  of  labor.  ^4  a  page  perpetuates 
a  Tract ;  ^3  a  page  a  12mo  volume  ;  ^2  50  an  18mo  volume  of  less  than  200  pages  ; 
^2  an  18mo  of  more  than  200  pages. 

The  Executive  Committee,  to  conduct  the  business  of  the  Society,  consists  of  the 
members  of  the  three  following  Committees :  Publishing  Committee,  Rev.  John  Knox, 
D.  D.,  Rev.  Justin  Edwards,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Charles  G.  Sommers,  Rev.  James  W.  Alex¬ 
ander,  D.  D.,  Rev.  John  S.  Stone,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Erskine  Mason,  D.  D.  Distributing 
Committee,  Dr.  James  C.  Bliss,  William  Forrest,  William  Winterton,  James  W. 
Dominick.  Finance  Committee,  Dr.  John  Stearns,  Moses  Allen,  Richard  T.  Haines, 
Thomas  C.  Doremus,  Richard  S.  Fellowes. 

Secretaries,  William  A.  Hallock  in  the  Publishing  and  Foreign  Department ;  O. 
Eastman  for  the  raising  of  funds ;  R.  S.  Cook  for  the  diffusion  of  publications  by  Col¬ 
porteurs,  Agents,  and  Christians  generally ;  O.  R.  Kingsbury,  Assistant  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  ;  J.  A.  Ackley,  Depositary  ;  to  either  of  which,  or  to  “  the  Secretaries”  of 
the  Society,  all  communications  may  be  addressed,  at  150  Nassau-street,  New  York. 

Drafts  should  be  made  payable  to  O.  R.  Kingsbury. 

Rev.  Seth  Bliss,  Secretary  American  Tract  Society,  28  Cornhill,  Boston. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

1  848. 


